Wednesday, May 28

At 8:00 I was eating an Estonian breakfast and at 9:00 I was in the morning session at the university where we were based. After lunch I was so happy to be there that I volunteered to lead a new working party on e-learning. The meeting ended at 15:00 and some people waited for a taxi to the hotel and some didn’t.

I learned two things in rapid succession, and thus waited for the taxi. Firstly, the hotel was within walking distance of the harbour. Secondly Linda Line would almost certainly not be running today because the winds were too strong. Someone phoned them for me, and sure enough they had cancelled all crossings for today. However, right opposite the hotel was a Linda Line office where I got a refund, and next to that was a Tallink office where I booked a seat on the 16:30 ferry.

I set off walking and now I am just coming up to the harbour. I am not sure if this is a church or not, and I am too cold and wet to pause to find out. I just assume that it might be.

In a few minutes I will go to the terminal to see how everything works. I will then walk 100 metres to Superalko to buy some cheap liquer because, as Irma pointed out, how could you not shop at somewhere called Superalko? Then I will go back into the warmth and wait for the ferry.

Lasse will join me and we will spent two hours on the boat looking out of the window and chatting. During this we will concoct some plans that would definitely never have occurred to us if I had stayed in Finland.

When we get to Helsinki the wind and rain will be bitterly cold and we will wait fifteen minutes for a taxi, which will drop me at Kalasatama before taking Lasse home.

Irma and I will sample the box of “chardonnay” that I bought for 8€ and agree that it is absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately it will also prove to be addictive and we will drink rather more of it than doctors recommend while planning how we could turn it into sangria if we had the right ingredients.